Lewis Carter knows exactly where UCF has to get better if the Knights are going to change the conversation in 2026: stop getting pushed around on the road.
Last season was rough away from home. UCF didn’t win a single road game, dropped four of its five trips by double digits, and its only close loss came at Cincinnati on Oct.
- The Knights were beaten by an average of 21.8 points in those games, and the biggest problem was clear - they couldn’t slow down the run.
That part of the defense never really held up. UCF was out-rushed in every road game except the Cincinnati matchup, where quarterback Cam Fancher ran for a season-high 108 yards. For Carter, the fix starts with the basics.
"You got to stop the run to be able to earn the right to rush the passer, man," Carter told Sons of UCF at Big 12 Media Day.
Texas Tech offered the kind of blueprint Carter is talking about. The Red Raiders led the Big 12 in run defense, giving up just 68.1 yards and eight rushing touchdowns, and they also paced the conference with 41 sacks. When UCF went to Lubbock, Texas Tech hit the Knights with four sacks in a 48-9 blowout.
That kind of defensive backbone is what UCF is chasing. If the Knights want to reach a bowl game and put together a winning season, they need their run defense to become the foundation instead of the weak spot.
The offseason brought help for that mission. UCF added two experienced linebackers through January’s transfer portal in Old Dominion transfer Jahleel Culbreath and Wisconsin transfer Tackett Curtis, who both played under defensive coordinator Alex Grinch at previous stops. They join Carter in a group that can bring pressure when Grinch decides to send a linebacker.
Carter had two sacks last season, while Culbreath posted three and Curtis added one. Together, they give UCF more options to attack the quarterback if the run defense does its job first.
Even with the roster changes, the Knights are still being overlooked heading into 2026. They’ve regularly landed near the bottom of Big 12 preseason projections, and plenty of record forecasts still don’t have them getting to six wins.
"They don't look at us as the guys on top, but we just know we working," Carter said. "We going to stack days and we ready to work, ready to prove the world."
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Some of the matchups have carried extra baggage because of UCFs old American Athletic Conference ties, while others have become reminders of how steep the climb is against established Big 12 programs. Houston, Cincinnati, BYU, West Virginia, Kansas State, Baylor, Arizona State and Kansas have all offered their own version of the challenge, and the Knights have had only scattered bright spots to point to as they try to build a more competitive footing in the league. [Read more 🡒]